Between the Dusk and the Dawn
by Eydris Ivo
Summary: Ellana Lavellan can't sleep, her worries troubling her like never before. She finds herself up in the night, wandering the cold hallways of Skyhold until she makes her way to the war room. It turns out, she's not the only one up. Contains sexual content, but not explicit.


It was late, but Ellana Lavellan roamed the halls of Skyhold, trailing her fingers against the cold stone. She couldn't sleep. Too much was at stake, and everything rested on her shoulders. How on earth was she to succeed at solving such a monumental problem? She sighed stopping at the door to the war room. She pressed her palms against the smooth wooden surface, pushing it open with a creak.

Cullen looked up as the door opened, taking his feet off the war table quickly once he realized who had opened the door. He placed a glass on the table, sliding it aside as he stood up quickly. He was dressed in a simple linen tunic laced and slightly open at the chest and a pair of leather slacks—a stark contrast from his usual dress. A bottle with amber liquid sat on one side of the table, picking up the glow of the many candles that lit the room.

"Inquisitor!" he stammered, folding his hands behind him. "I…wasn't expecting you. It's night. Most people are sleeping."

Ellana smiled slightly, pushing a few strands of hair behind a long ear. "It's alright, Cullen. I couldn't sleep. Mind if I join you?"

"No," He said firmly, "I mean, yes. I mean, maybe, but only if you'd like to."

Ellana took a glass from a nearby shelf, setting it on the table. "Fill me up, Commander."

Cullen coughed nervously and cleared his throat at her words, scratching his neck before grabbing the bottle.

The alcohol flowed freely over the next couple of hours, and the tension had begun to dissolve as the candles slowly burnt down. Dawn hinted at the horizon in the faintest shades of blue, yet the stars still twinkled brightly. Cullen and Ellana's laughter filled the room, the heaviness of their duties lifting from their shoulders, if only for a moment.

"So," Cullen stated, resting his hip against the table," I told Leliana that assassinating the Duke in his sleep wasn't a good idea, but she insisted her agents knew exactly how to deal with the problem." His lips pulled up in a smile.

Ellana laughed so deeply that she knocked her glass over on the table, causing amber liquid to seep out as the container rolled backwards. Her green eyes widened, and she went to reach for the mess. At the same moment, so did Cullen, his body colliding directly with hers as he reached over her to fetch the errant glass.

"I, uh," he stammered, "I'm sorry."

"No," she blushed, looking into the depths of his brown eyes, "It was my fault. I was clumsy."

He was looking intently at her, and she felt the heat rise in her cheeks. The table pressed into her lower back from behind, and his hands were on either side of her. She could feel the heat of his body tight against her. There was nowhere to run, and there was definitely nowhere to hide.

"I…" he breathed out, moving forward until his breath just grazed the side of her neck. "I don't want to move."

Ellana felt the muscles of his torso through his shirt, pressing tightly against her body. She was acutely aware of his positioning and his presence.

"I," she stammered, exhaling quickly as her stomach climbed into her throat, "I don't want you to move, Cullen."

Cullen took a sharp intake of breath, moving his mouth to her cheek and trailing it along her skin until he finally met her lips. At first the kiss was soft, tentative, asking—barely touching. She responded to him, moving towards him with a deep inhalation, taking in his scent. At her acceptance, he could hold back no longer. He pushed his lips against her, claiming her mouth as his own. She fell into him completely, both emotionally and physically. Her lips moved eagerly against his, filled with a hunger she couldn't contain.

Ellana felt her legs part, allowing him to press deeply between them. She could feel his need against her, and it caused her to moan softly. His hands moved from the table to her hips, grasping her tightly and pulling body tight against him. Her hand reached upwards, toying with the lacing of his tunic, pulling the threads slowly from their places and revealing more of his muscular torso. When she had unlaced it completely, she slid her hands against his chest, then his toned abdomen.

"Ellana,"he whispered in between kisses, "I believe I have loved you for longer then I care to admit. Are you sure about this?" His fingers moved from her hips to play with the trim of her shirt, trailing his fingers along the border of the fabric, tucking his fingertip just underneath. His touch was like fire on her skin, igniting a heat deep within her.

Ellana's legs crossed behind him. "Cullen," she whispered, grazing her teeth against his lower lip, "If you can't seem to remember, you caught me at first glance. When you left Haven with the survivors, my heart broke with even the faintest idea of never seeing you again. You had me at first glance. I knew I loved you when you caught me as I fell—when I saw your face after Haven".

Cullen's grip tightened on her as he moaned, pushing her body downwards until her back was flat against the table. His lips claimed her again, his kiss deepening with a passion that he could no longer control. He slid his hand up the side of her body, taking the fabric up with it until she was revealed to him. His hands covered her curves with a tenderness she'd never known, yet his touch still held a passion that had yet to be tamed. She reciprocated, covering every inch of him in her fingers, and pulling him firmly against her hips.

His body covered her, and she accepted him deeply, flesh against flesh, heart against heart, and lips against lips. All the torture, the pain, everything that had plagued them vanished as they took each other fully, losing themselves entirely in the desire for each other.


End file.
